Page 39 of Predator

He waits for me to approach the fence before he says, “Just who I was hoping to see. I have a delivery especially for you.”

For me?

Crap. I’m suddenly regretting not shifting back and throwing on my clothes after all. I might be able to understand him since he’s speaking in English, but there’s no way I can communicate with him. Coming out of my shift to flash a stranger seems like a pretty bad idea, too.

Instead, I cock my head, twitching my ears, trying to look like a curious wolf.

It must work. He nods to himself, reaching over the fence to put the envelope within the reach of my muzzle.

Because of course it’s the envelope. Why wouldn’t it be?

“I ran into Simone in the town square. Since I was heading over to bring the weekly groceries for the Alpha, she asked if I could bring this over and give it to the wolf with yellow fur. Here you go, Tristan. It must be for you.”

Oh, boy. I can’t really blame this guy for not being able to tell two blonde wolves apart. Tristan is much bigger in size than I am, and I’m wearing my opal around my neck like it’s some kind of a collar, but he doesn’t seem to notice.

I take the envelope anyway. If it’s for Tristan… I’ll make sure he gets it. When he angles it in front of my mouth, I gingerly bite down on the corner with my fangs.

I guess that was right because he settles back on his heels, dusting his hands off.

“These are the groceries for the Alpha,” he tells me next, gesturing at the bags.

That’s nice. I have an envelope between my fangs.

I hope he doesn’t think I’m going to shift back and take them from him. For one thing, I’m still against flashing the guy. For another, he’ll be in for one hell of a surprise if he thinks I’m Tristan and my tits are suddenly in his face.

I park my haunches on the grass and wait.

He takes the hint.

“I’ll just put them over there then.”

Works for me. I can grab them after I shift back and change—and maybe get a better peek at the envelope.

The human man lifts up the first bag, grunting at the weight, leaning over the iron fence to drop it down on our side. He does the same with the other.

After that, there’s a moment of awkwardness that reminds me of the time that creepy old man in the bellboy costume came by to bring me a telegram from my grandmother. Am I supposed to pay him? Tip him? Lucas’s dealings with the non-supes in Winter Creek are his business. The longer I’m here, the more I’ll understand them, but now? I’m just staring up at this guy with an envelope still clutched between my fangs.

He scratches that back of his neck, smile wavering. I don’t blink.

He clears his throat. “Well, that’s all. Let Lucas know I came by, okay? If he needs anything else, he knows where to find me.”

I’m glad he does.

I let out a garbled yip so that he knows that I got the message, then wait for him to turn around and walk away from the fence. He’s whistling as he goes, and I just resist tapping my paws.

Once I can’t pick up the whistling any longer, I turn again and trot back to the clearing behind the pack house. I almost expect to find one of the pack—Eleanor maybe, or even Tristan—but it’s still empty.

Spitting the envelope out, I shift back to human. Thank goodness for all that earlier practice because it only takes a few seconds before I’m bending over, picking up the envelope.

I don’t know why, but I didn’t quite buy his story that he thought I was Tristan; or, if he did, that this envelope was meant for the Beta. If someone said yellow fur and Lucas has been hiding the fact that I’m here… I’m just going to look.

My paranoia is vindicated when I lift up the envelope and, in an old-fashioned loopy script, I see the name: Jolie Bordeaux.

Fuck that. There’s no way this is for Tristan. And since it isn’t?

Damn right I’m going to open that thing up.

Before I do, I gather up my clothes. Tucking the envelope under my arm, I hop up and down, shimmying on my panties first, then my shorts. The bra is next, followed by my tank top, and only once I’ve patted my opal necklace back in place over the top of it do I grab my sandals in one hand, clutch the envelope on the other, and head inside.

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